OUTDOORS: Waynesboro man catches $10K tagged fish

One tagged largemouth bass in Fort Ritchie’s Lake Royer became a $10,000 prize for AJ Scott of Waynesboro.

Comment

By Stephanie Harbaugh

Waynesboro Record Herald - Waynesboro, PA

By Stephanie Harbaugh

Posted Jul. 30, 2013 at 10:00 AM

By Stephanie Harbaugh

Posted Jul. 30, 2013 at 10:00 AM

CASCADE — One tagged largemouth bass in Fort Ritchie’s Lake Royer became a $10,000 prize for AJ Scott of Waynesboro.

On June 22, Scott, 33, and two other fishermen — Darryl Sensenbaugh of Hagerstown and Dave Fisher of Thurmont — were vying for the elusive largemouth bass worth $10,000 during the final round of Fort Ritchie Community Center’s 2nd Annual Bass Fishing Tournament Championship.

Ten total fish were tagged for the championship round with Scott’s being announced as the winner after the day of intense fishing concluded.

Hard to believe

“I was hoping I would catch the winning fish but honestly never thought I would,” said Scott, who noted he was in a daze when his tagged largemouth bass — approximately 15-inches long and 1 1/2-pounds — was announced as the winner.

“It took about three hours for reality to begin sinking in,” said Scott, who plans to utilize his winnings to help pay off some bills and put the rest in the bank where he can “hold onto it.”

“We here at the Fort Ritchie Community Center (FRCC) were so excited for someone to win the prize,” said Kirsten Hubbard, business and development manager for the community center. “It was really against the odds but we’re just thrilled AJ won,” said Hubbard.

FRCC worked in conjunction with SCA Promotions, based in Dallas, Texas, to provide the $10,000 winnings for the competition.

For Scott, Sensenbaugh and Fisher they had to win one of three heats — held March 16, April 13, or May 11 — to be qualified for the championship round.

Scott won the first heat held March 16, where he walked away with $750 in winnings, in part to catching a tagged fish (worth $250) and the heaviest for $500.

Always a fisherman

For Scott, fishing has been in his blood since childhood. “I love to go fishing every weekend,” said Scott, who enjoys taking his two children Jordan, 11, and Natalie, 4, along with him.

Scott, now has his eyes set on tournament fishing if it’s in the cards. “I would love to travel the United States and compete in various fishing tournaments,” said Scott, who in his non-competitive days enjoys fishing the Salmon River in New York for trout.

Next year

FRCC plans on having their annual bass fishing tournament on Lake Royer again in 2014.

This year approximately $9,000, was raised for FRCC through the fishing tournament which also helped to deplete Lake Royer’s tremendous fish population.